Organisational behaviour - Essay Example

Organizational behavior Organizational behavior Organizational behavior can be defined as the study of the way people, individual and groups relate in the organizations. Organizational behavior is extremely important, and managers should understand the behavior of their employee in order to build good relationships, and achieve the objectives of people, organization, and the social objectives. Organizational behavior entails the learning human behavior and the way they relate in the work place. A theory is concerns ideas used to explain the relationship of a phenomenon. These ideas are used to expound on the relationships about some aspects in the world. Human behavior is learnt in the societies through the various relationships that human beings engage in their environment. There are various theories used to explain human behavior (Griffin, 2011). The theories of human behavior are explored herein. Social exchange theory This theory was coined by theorists such as George Homans, John Thibaut, Harold Kelley, and Peter Blau. This theory emphasizes on how people minimize costs and maximize rewards through social exchange. This theory was developed to help understand the social behavior of humans in the economic realm. People are viewed to behave in such a manner that they expect something good from others. Social behavior is whereby people exchange goods, materials and non material goods for their own benefit. People who give so much expect to be given with the same measure. Those who receive are also under pressure of doing the same to their colleagues (Ranganayakulu, 2005). People tend to maximize profit and reduce losses hence they give what they have expecting rewards. Here, equilibrium to a balance in exchanges is worked out. People give much of their time in work because they know they will get a pay. If they do not then alienation to work is experienced, and the company may have losses. Therefore, the company will try winning their workers by ensuring that the working conditions are favorable (Hellriegel, 2007). According to (Reddy, 2004), social exchange theory concerns the voluntary actions of individuals and the motivation factor is the return they expect from others. He argues that people engage in associations because they see the benefits. For instance, he gives examples of neighbors exchanging favors; employees can assist each other, political alliances among others. He argues that these exchanges can lead to long term links. Blau (1964) asserts that not all behaviors in the society are social exchange and his ideas revolve around rewards. He points out that any social behavior motivated by a return from the other person is a social exchange (Mullins, 2005). (Hellriegel, 2007) argues that when people enter into an alliance there are things that they are obligated to do. (Hellriegel, 2007) argues that those people who want to continue receiving needed services need to reciprocate, and the person who supplies the needed services obligates the receiver. He also points out that the receiver has to honor the obligation by providing benefits to the first one. In relation to these, if the parties in the alliance value what they receive from one another, they will exchange more services as an incentive for the other party. Another theory of human behavior is the social learning theory. Here, ideas by Albert Bandura as one of the scholars who wrote on social learning theory will be explored. According to Bandura, people in the society learn from each other. People observe other’s behaviors through modeling and once they get the idea they know how to perform. Social learning theory explains human behavior as a result of continuous interaction of people in the environment. Bandura points out that there are various factors that lead to effective modeling. He argues that attention can be affected by a number of factors. That is complexity, distinctiveness and past reinforcement. He also argues that there is the retention factor whereby behavior is learnt through rehearsal. Bandura also points out that other factors that affect behavior changes is reproduction and motivation. The management needs to motivate the employees in order to get good results from the employees (Bandura, 1977). Social learning theory explains the way people learn behavior from the environment through reinforcement. This can be positive or negative. Reinforcement result to repetition of an action. For instance when employees are rewarded for their efforts they tend to work even harder to receive the same or a better reward. Hence; when workers are appraised for their good performance the end results of the organization are good (Miner, 2006). Organizational behavior is helps the management know to handle their workers and how to create good working conditions. One way they can do this is by motivating the workers using rewards. In the organizations, managers ensure that they set goals, vision and values of the organizations. These give a guideline and help in the formation of organizational culture. The culture of the organization helps determine the behavior of the workers and employers. That is communication and group dynamics within the organization. The performance of the organization is determined by the relationships in the organization. For people to work as a team, they have to relate well. If there is poor communication within the organization, then the results will be negative. It is therefore, important to learn how people behave in order to set the organization culture (Griffin, 2011). According to Bandura, reinforcement can be used to motivate workers, and management can do this by promoting and raising the pay of the workers. When the employee is motivated the production will increase, and the outcome will favor both employees, and the organization at large. The organization can also ensure that the personal development of the workers is attained through learning programs whereby the further their education. This will increase the value of the employee and also act as a motivational factor. The performance of the employee will improve with a higher margin (Bandura, 1977). According to Blau, people exchange services on the basis of expectations. If the management wants to win the good services of the workers, then good salaries and working conditions are expected. Therefore, to minimize losses the management needs to motivate the workers because through this production rate will increase. The worker will not be alienated from their work and will put more efforts in their duties (Blau, 1964). The management uses various models to operate. These are autocratic, custodial, supportive and collegial. According to (Hellriegel, 2007) the autocratic model is based on power and management has all the authority. The employees are expected to obey and depend on their managers. Here, the performance of the employees is minimal because they are overwhelmed by the power of the boss. The custodial model on the other hand, meets the security of the employees. The managers value money than anything else. The workers get benefits and their financial needs are met. However, their performance is passive, and they cannot contribute in decision making. The managers expect them to perform as long as they get the money. Personal satisfaction and development here is not recognized (Hellriegel, 2007). The supportive model is also used in the organizations. The leadership here is supportive, and employees are recognized. Their performance improves, and the organization also benefits from the outcome. Cunningham and Eberle also point out that in the collegial model, partnership and teamwork in management is experienced. The employees are trained to be responsible, and self discipline is inculcated. The employees can work without much supervision, and this improves their performance. The management therefore, should be aware of the behavior of employees and have a clear understanding on how to handle them (Cunningham, Eberle, 1990). The study of organizational behavior is important to the management. The understanding of human behavior and relationships in the organization, the management will be able to design better ways of improving the performance of workers. The organization as a system has many activities. The production process needs the performance of the workers, and if the workers are not supported by the management then the whole process of production will be affected. The relationship of workers has an impact for the whole organization. The teams may gang up together and refuse to work if the management does not listen to their plea. This can lead to strikes or go slow and therefore, their needs should be known to the management. It is therefore, important for the management to understand and know how to relate with their worker (Ahmad, 2008). The management can enrich the employees by allowing them to perform different tasks. This will help reduce monotony and the worker will be able to perform well. The managers can also encourage the workers by giving them feedback on their performance. This can motivate the worker and know where to improve (Martin, 2010). Conclusion Organizational behavior is an important aspect and all managers are supposed to have a clear understanding of this field. The organization and the workers will benefit if they have a clear understanding of each other, and develops a good relationship. This can be achieved by learning human behavior on individual and group levels. References Ahmad, S. F. (2008). Organisational Behaviour. New York: Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Bandura A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. Blau, P. (1964), Exchange and Power in Social Life, New York: Wiley & Sons. Cunningham,J.B& Eberle . (1990). Aguide to Job Enrichment and Redesign. New York: McGraw-Hill. Griffin, R. W. (2011). Organizational Behavior. New York: Cengage Learning. Hellriegel, D. (2007). Organizational behavior. New York: Cengage Learning. Martin, J. (2010). Organizational Behaviour & Management. New York: Cengage Learning. Miner, J. B. (2006). Organizational behavior: Historical origins, theoretical foundations, and the future. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Mullins, L. J. (2005). Management and organisational behaviour. New York: Prentice Hall. Ranganayakulu, K. (2005). Organisational Behavior. New York: Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Reddy, R. (2004). Organisational Behavior. New York: APH Publishing. Robbins, S. P. (2009). 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